Switch
by CrimsonAccent
Summary: Sasuke may get to keep his family, but is it for the better? Sakura and Naruto might say, "No." It all stemmed from Itachi being the failed genius of the clan, and evolves into so much more. AR, OOC, etc.
1. Chapter 1

Title:Switch

Rating: T or M

Genre:Drama/Angst/A&A/General

Warnings: AU/AR, OOC, cursing, possible lemon or lime

Key: "regular talking" _thoughts/emphasis_ _"other voice"_ **"demon/higher being/boss summon" _"possessed person/animal"_**

Summary: Sasuke may get to keep his family, but is it for the better? AR, OOC, etc. Sakura and Naruto might say, "No."

Note: I have no "set" or planned pairings. Any and all suggestions are welcome. The only thing I really don't like his a ten year gap or higher; TsuNaru, JirSaku, etc.

_Edited by Masu Trout. She's my beta for Switch now. Give her two thumbs up. 2/24/10_

--- Chapter 1: Welcome to the Enigma

"Itachi?"

No answer. The older Uchiha just remained still, laying on his bed.

Sasuke sighed. All he got was a slow glance in his direction. Progress was progress…but still. Some days, his brother wouldn't even respond. Was it too much to want a "Hi," or, "Hey, Sasuke," every once in a while?

Apparently, in this household it was.

"I'm gonna take my genin exam today."

As frustrating as it was, Sasuke could never be mad at his brother. It wasn't Itachi's fault, after all... he found that Itachi was an excellent listener, though.

Many would argue that was because he never talked, but his younger brother knew better. Secretly, he thought Itachi liked hearing about his day, what he was going to do and the like. Itachi's usually blank eyes would light up as he ranted about girls and how confusing they were, and about the jerkwads that whispered ugly things about his brother and clan. Sasuke knew Itachi listened, and he would even smile and nod sometimes when Sasuke told him about how he aced a test or learned a new jutsu.

Those were his favorite moments.

"Bye, Itachi," he called, slamming the door.

---

_"hehe..gonna screw up again?"_

Naruto glared, but otherwise showed no reaction.

_"Oh, I forgot, you're gonna impress Iruka! How, show him how spectacularly you can fail?"_

People never understood his silence. It wasn't because he had nothing to say. He just hated the snarky comments _it_ provided whenever he messed up. Or the insults it threw at his various classmates.

Naruto never had a moment of peace. Even his self-imposed quiet failed to work. But it was better than accidentally saying something aloud to it. People already thought he was crazy enough.

His eyes were hard as he left the alley.

---

'_Tou-san..._'

It had been two years since then, but it was still hard.

Sakura missed her father badly. The way he laughed, his voice, even the way he smelled. She was scared that she would forget. So Sakura reminded herself every day. She would think of those memories fondly and light a candle.

"I'll make you proud."

---

The twelve-year-olds milled around the classroom nervously. Others were chattering loudly, pretending that everything was normal. Everyone had their own way of calming their nerves; a few were psyching themselves up using sworn by rituals older siblings had told them about.

Hinata, Shino, Naruto, and Sasuke were the only ones not conducting themselves noisily.

Ino and Sakura were in an intense debate on which type of boy was better, and even had a few onlookers. Some of the other girls, Gin and Reika among them, were listening with rapt interest.

Shikamaru, a typical Nara, was trying vainly to catch a few more Zs. Although it was a mystery what exactly that he could be doing that was so tiring. Everyone thought he was just lazy, and so far they hadn't been proven wrong. Who claimed picking up a pencil was too much work, and who actually used that as an excuse to have a blank test?

It was a miracle that the Nara was passing...if only barely.

Chouji Akimichi was eating chips, rapid fire. All of his written tests were always greasy, and no one found him attractive at all.

Shikamaru and Chouji somehow were best friends. Some jokingly said they were "bums for life" and that Shikamaru's sloth and Chouji's gluttony complimented each other.

Kiba was proclaiming, quite loudly, how he would kick everyone's ass, and his puppy Akamaru seemed to agree, barking at high volume. Most paid him no mind as he was just blowing off steam.

Naruto was all but alone in the back row on the top. No one sat by him, as he was too creepy and weird. Everyone in the class said he was a loser and didn't want to catch it. The blond was also short; even some of the girls were taller than him, not that he cared. He just hated it when he was called crazy. Or at least, that's what got the best reaction from him.

Sasuke and Shino were nearest to him, as they were the most composed and mature of the class. Shino was on the row closest to the door, and only Reika sat by him. Sasuke was in the row directly below the class reject, to the right. Naruto suspected Shino just didn't care, as he was an Aburame, and Sasuke just wanted to keep his fangirls away. The blond had a good way of warding them off.

Sakura and Ino always sat together, toward the front in the middle; the pair of best friends were always jabbering on about something together. It was an exclusively '_them_' friendship.

Kiba, when he skipped class, frequently did it with Chouji, the lazy Nara, or both of them if they were up to it. He preferred to sit by Hinata if he could, though; she was shy and quiet, but he found her cute, especially when she blushed, which was very often. The bum and the slob (as others less fond of them called Chouji and Shikamaru) always sat by each other, to the left.

As soon as Iruka and Mizuki, the chuunin instructors, entered the room silence fell. Typically this wasn't the case. Normally the class continued to be rowdy for at least a few minutes before they noticed their sensei, (sooner, if Iruka was having a bad day and roared at them) but today was different.

Sakura was confident she would ace the written exam. She was nervous about the jutsu portion though, she was much better at theory... Ino always beat her in spars.

Kiba was cocky he would ace everything; he was the coolest guy around after all. Way better than those Traitor-Uchihas.

Everyone had no doubt they would become genin one way or another.

Shino calmly looked down at the written test. _Hm. So most of the test contains elements of_ _History, and the Shinobi Code._ He was an intelligent young man with a very rational mind, and found very little of the exam trying.

Naruto stared at his paper. History he could do and he knew the Shinobi code somewhat, though he couldn't claim he knew it like the back of his hand. 'Shinobi Rule #5: Always conduct yourself in a respectable manner in front of your leader.'

_"Be careful not the break your back bowing,"_ Sarcasm mocked.

Sasuke wrote down his answers at a fairly quick, steady pace. Most of these were child's play. _There isn't any theory here past what any dropout would know. _Unconsciously, he glanced in Naruto's direction. The blond was as silent as Itachi, refusing to answer questions even from Mizuki and Iruka. Sasuke wondered why he refused to talk.

Eventually, a half hour later, the papers were picked up, and they were told to line up in alphabetical order.

Thus, Naruto ended up behind Uchiha Sasuke and in front of Yamanaka Ino.

She sighed, watching the back of the darker blond's head. _What is up with him? He, like, never talks. How does he even pass? _Ino mused silently, as she only had time. Seriously, no one was behind her, and about thirty kids to go before she had to show off her skills. _I bet Iruka-sensei has a soft spot for him. _One time she had spotted them at a ramen bar, Ichiraku's, and the mind specialist even swore she saw Naruto laugh. _I probably just imagined it. He never even smiles or talks, much less laughs at a joke._

Still, at least he didn't come from a clan of traitors. Her eyes lingered on Sasuke. Everyone knew Uchiha were bad news and couldn't be trusted.

A few people fidgeted as they waited. Just what were they doing in there?

_Finally, my turn. _Sasuke thought. He walked into the room confidently. Bunshin and Henge he could do in his sleep. Kawarimi and **Rope-escape **might give him more trouble, but Uchiha Sasuke was top of the class for a reason.

"Alright, Sasuke, first I want you to perform an adequate henge, and then perform a kawarimi," Iruka said.

He and Mizuki sat behind a table laden with papers and hitai-ate. Only a few head-bands were left. _A lot of people must have passed,_ he realized. They never saw the other kids once they went in, and had no way of knowing whether or not they'd failed.

Sasuke nodded, and set an image firmly in his mind. _Put a thin layer of chakra over my body_. He gathered and spread the mix of physical and spiritual energy and formed the rat sign, finishing the jutsu with a poof of smoke. Pleased with himself (guessing from Mizuki's startled look and Iruka's pleased one), Itachi-Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets.

Mizuki recovered momentarily. "Now kawarimi, then."

"With what?"

"You can use anything of your choice."

Sasuke nodded at Iruka's words. _Damn. It's always more difficult with a smaller object, or an exceedingly large one,_ he added, glancing at his teachers, their chairs, and the desk all in turn.

His eyes locked on the hitai-ate.

"Kawarimi!" He said quietly.

In a poof of smoke, Sasuke was gone. The smoke dispersed quickly, revealing a head band. Sasuke was on the edge of the desk, violating Iruka's personal space.

"Well done," Mizuki praised evenly.

"Now onto the last task, please show us your bunshin no jutsu, and produce at least two copies."

_Heh. Piece of cake._

Moments later, he exited out the back door, hitai-ate around his forehead.

---

Naruto watched Sasuke walk out,_ "Ooh. Look, even traitor-boy managed to get one! I don't like the way he's lookin' at us!"_ blocked out the comment, and headed into the room.

---

Her mother's smile was warm, and the just-graduated-to-genin girl couldn't help but smile in return. Mei's brown eyes held a gentle but proud light in them that hid her worry for her only daughter. Sakura was oblivious to it, reveling in the joy of her accomplishment.

"Do you think Tou-san is proud?"

She was a bit anxious, wanting to do good to his memory, and also very serious. Her mother told her how a spirit may not be able to linger, but the Shinigami would allow them to see the world in order to watch over their loved ones.

The Haruno matriarch thought it over for a few minutes, showing that she also took her daughter's inquiry seriously and not brushing it off, or giving what Sakura called an "automatic Mom response". And then her face cleared, becoming less solemn. "Yes, I believe he is. I'm sure his spirit is proud that his daughter is taking her dreams seriously."

Heavy matters pressed, talked about, and over with, the mood in the house considerably lightened.

"Mm. Do you think Sasuke-kun might have noticed?"

Sakura felt her face flush at the thought of her crush. She only referred to him like this in private, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. And it would be presumptuous of her. Also, she knew her best friend Ino frowned on her strange infatuation.

Mei tried not to frown; she was raised to be a fair person and her husband had disapproved of narrow-mindedness, but even if the boy wasn't directly involved, that clan was nothing but bad news. Just like the Uzumaki-boy. She liked Sakura's friend, the Yamanaka girl much better. A bit of a chatterbox, but she was a much better influence and had her priorities in the right place when it came to people to associate with.

"I'm sure he did, if you gave it your all." It was what Sakura called the AMR, but she didn't notice that her mom was just placating her.

Love made a person irrational, after all.

Something was just so…striking about him. Sakura couldn't pin down just the one thing that drew her in. He certainly had more than enough in the looks department. But the twelve-year-old couldn't help but think it was something more than just his physical aspects. For now, all she could do was sigh wistfully and daydream about how, well, dreamy he was.

---

All of the class turned around the next day in the middle of Iruka's lecture on what it meant now that they had graduated, and would now proudly serve the village. It was something boring about responsibility and danger and all that. Or how risking your life for the village was an honor. All in all, typical brainwashing.

There was a collective unheard gasp of surprise.

Iruka blinked in shock. They never did anything in unison.

Never.

Uzumaki Naruto lingered in the doorway, azure eyes flickering about the room and the class, flitting from fellow students, his sensei Iruka, and to discarded chalk and broken pencils. He had a nasty looking black eye that _had_ to be sore, and would soon be turning a sick yellow. Parts of his face were bruised and bandages peeked from his sleeves, suggesting other injuries. An ugly half healed wound was running along his neck, mostly vertical, from just below his jaw line to his collar bone. Undoubtedly the maverick and been in a serious fight and lost badly, or otherwise was beaten heavily, judging from the limp and his stiff movements.

A hitai-ate rested on his neck, partially hiding the jagged soon-to-be scar on his neck.

Rumors had spread viciously that he had failed, and his assumed muteness and terrible grades had only added fuel to the fire. Secretly, many hoped that was the case. Shock from his injured state kept the disappointment from invading their systems.

No one had confirmed his failure, and any lingering doubts flew out the window as he sat down, ignoring the blatant stares.

Sasuke and Sakura both shared an unexpected look, as she looked to the left, and he to the right. The exchange was less than a minute, but it mattered to her, none-the-less. Her inner-self noted it while, outwardly, she was slightly freaking out at Naruto's sudden (and beat up) appearance. Ino always said that he was trouble, just like Sasuke and the rest of the Uchiha. Could she have been right?

Naruto sat down quickly in his normal area (he didn't have a spot or seat that was his, just a radius of up to two rows that no one wanted to be in) nonchalantly, as quiet as ever.

Soon the class got over the shock, and puzzlement began to set in. Why was he like this? Who decided to beat the shit out of him?

Some were almost pleased, but even they shied away from the viciousness his throat wound indicated. He was freaky, but not worth killing.

Well, most of the time. Somehow he got on other people's nerves at times, because he was so much like a ghost or one of those stalkers.

Iruka assumed control.

"Well, it's nice to see you made it, Naruto."

In a very un-Naruto-like move, he jerked his head of swiftly, surprise in his eyes.

Iruka...Iruka-sensei _knew?_

The chuunin cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, you will be split into groups of three, and assigned a jounin instructor..."

He continued on for a few moments, and then began calling out the squads.

"…Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke; your jounin will be Hatake Kakashi."

Of course the class stirred. Poor Sakura, stuck with the freak-reject-mute, and the Rookie-of-the-Year, against all odds. Uchiha's had never been respected since The Downfall.

Ino glanced at her best friend, and arguably most unlucky girl in the class. Sasuke might not look too bad, but guilt by association was enough for people to steer clear of him. The blonde glared at him, hoping he got the message. She imagined her light, blueish-green eyes lighting him on fire. Or at least, making him think twice about hurting her little sister.

Distantly, the Yamanaka heard team 8 announced disinterestedly.

"Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino; your jounin sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai."

Her eyes slid to each of them on turn, and eventually landed on Naruto. Class enigma, no doubt. No one had heard him utter a word, ever. Only one time Ino thought she might have heard something, and that turned out to be Iruka talking enough for the two of them at the Ramen Stand. Some people thought he was a retard, but those rumors were unfounded. Personally, she just thought he was an unlucky mute.

"Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru; your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma."

"WHAT?!"

---

Words: _3,103_

Whew. I really wanted to get this out. Now I just need to get Square up..(another one-shot). The last scene was actually supposed to be part of the next chapter but I figured, what the hell? Why not make it longer. HKNB will have first priority, but I will try to update regularly. Naruto was very difficult to pin down for me. To make it clear, _Naruto does not talk at all,_ period. This is AU/AR so there is a reason why everyone's out of whack.

Review, comment, flame, whatever! I'm curious to see what you think. And reviews inspire me. Hehe. :)

8/8/09


	2. What ANBU do in their spare time

Stupid ff(dot)net I couldn't log in, so I couldn't work on my stories. Or review anyone. :(

uchihabrat:thanks! I'll take that into consideration, I've always had a soft spot for NaruIno. I haven't really thought that far, at least about the pairings. *cookie*

SaphireWhiteWolf: It didn't show up, but I got the review in my e-mail..weird. Yay! smores!!! *cookie*

Warning: I drop the f-bomb a couple of times, and shit and hell.

--- Chapter 2: What ANBU do in their spare time.

Sasuke's head was still ringing from that dumb Yamanaka girl's screech. He'd winced at the time, but tried to keep his composure; the Uchiha kept a tab on his emotions and reactions. Sasuke tried to keep things to a minimum. No good to encourage rumor mongerors. Even a twitch out of line and half the populace would be convinced he was planning another coup.

Because he just had that kind of time on his hands.

Sasuke shook his head and rolled his eyes. Thank god the "harpy" (as he called her in private) wasn't on his team. Sakura at least, was smart and understood theory much better than the rest of the class, even beating him out in that area. Her taijutsu and stamina could be better though..he knew she was among the lowest of the class in that regard. Also for some reason, she didn't seem to view him negatively for whatever reason.

He lounged against the tree and opened his bento. Waves of sour bitterness washed over him. In his home, with Itachi, he could never reveal these feelings. Such things his brother could pick up and Itachi was already damaged enough. Sasuke cared enough about Itachi not to let it show. But who could stand that? Being whispered about, pitied, and the cause for all of it was an unresponsive blank slate 97% of the time. It was an endless cycle. Love. Hate. Denial. More bitterness.

Deep down, Uchiha Sasuke hated his older brother.

But the youngest Uchiha also loved him enough not to act on it. The dirty secret remained buried in his heart, where it would never be shown. Only in private could he vent, let the unhealthy emotions leave him.

And so, he did.

---

"When is he going to get here?" Annoyance laced the light, young, and clearly feminine voice; it made it slightly deeper and rougher.

Naruto watched Sakura eyes locked on her. He'd watched both of his new teammates with a steady gaze.

Sakura was too vexed by the long wait to find his constant stare creepy or irksome anymore. She had tried to be patient, as to show her maturity (she did not want Sasuke-kun to think she was a twit) and ability to endure long periods of ridiculous boredom. But three freakin' hours was really pushing it!

The three were all sitting in the room closer than they had ever willingly done so previously. For various reasons, none of them had come within five feet of each other at the same time; public views, rumors, insecurities, and other undecided conflicts. The genin were all towards the front by the chalk board which was blank. Iruka had left an hour ago, after wiping down the board and organizing some left over papers.

All were in a rough triangle; Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke (the blond being at the "top" point and on the next row). Naruto had no visible response, besides blinking once, and swiveling his eye's from her crush to herself. Sasuke turned his head in her direction. "Hatake..I've heard that name before." His brow furrowed in thought; a small frown marred his features.

Naruto's eyes flickered to Sasuke.

"You have?"

Sasuke nodded, somewhat distracted. Who was he? Obviously Hatake Kakashi was a jounin, or he wouldn't have been assigned as an instructor.

Silence fell over the room.

_"Gonna say somethin'? Show those bastards?! You've got nothing!"_

Naruto's lips pursed and eyebrow twitched in a suppressed wince. _Shut up._ He put a bit of heat in the though. Now was not the time to look crazy.

Naruto's eyes riveted to the door, and he tensed. Sasuke, rather observant for his age group noticed the movement and turned toward the door; Sakura happened to catch his movement, which was far less subtle than Naruto's, and also set her sights on it. All in the space of two seconds.

The door bust open! It barely hung by it's hinges, it's support battered by the sudden entrance. The door swung back and forth slowly, pathetically. A squeal-whine eeked as the rusted pieces of metal rubbed against each other.

The blond' s blue eyes widened, and he was leaning back, hands in front of him gripping the desk. Sakura's mouth was open, like she was about to give a shout of surprise, shock all over her features. Sasuke had a kunai pulled out and was crouched on the desk.

They all had there eye's locked on the figure, inches away from them.

Taller than they were, leaning against a ninjato that was stabbed into the floor. Small streams of blood trickled down the blade, and stained the wooden floor. Standard ANBU armor covered him, making him seem ghoulish and even more frightening. His masked face was a mere hand's distance away from all of them, right in there faces.

The last wisps of smoke dissipated.

Sasuke gained his bearings first, "Hatake Kakashi?" (Naruto might have already snapped out of it, but he was never inclined to respond verbally).

The mask dipped down, then came up again.

"Are..are you okay?"

As the mask slowly turned, coming to face her, Sakura felt a blush redden her face. _What a stupid thing to say!_ It was the first thing that had popped into her head. How naive she must have seemed with her babbling. The mask didn't move up, down, nor sideways in any acknowledgement. Merely watching, evaluating. He gave no answer, only remaining in that position for a full thirty seconds.

"Cell 7?"

His voice was hard, like one who had scene many horrors, and might unleash them upon unsuspected genin if he so desired. It was also intimidating, like everything else about the shady ANBU that was apparently their instructor on the side. His mere presence was a bit overwhelming for lowly genin. Everything. The stance, screaming confidence, deadly, extremely dangerous, and maybe not all there. He didn't possess monstrous amounts of chakra unlike other jounin, but what he did have was scary; controlled, experienced, thick. Waves of badass oozed from him.

"H..H-Hai!" Sakura's instincts to answer a sensei could never fail her, even when her wit had fled her. She bit her lip trying to regain control.

Sasuke followed her example like an echo. "Hai."

Naruto said nothing. Kakashi apparently took his silence for a yes, or simply didn't care.

"On the roof. In five minutes."

Shunshin. He was gone. Only a single leaf and distortion in space to give evidence of his actions. The air had warped for one instance, and then the moment was gone, along with him.

Naruto was still, than he got up stiffly, and started towards the roof.

Sasuke got up, with only a quick glance in her direction.

Sakura followed there example, wondering if her team was all that great. It was..just..so quiet.

---

Naruto watched Kakashi closely; he'd been the first one up aside from the freaky ANBU who was their sensei apparently. The mask stayed on, and he was leaning against the railing (it had started to rust, as it was left to the elements), hands in his pockets. A constant aura emanated from Hatake, never letting one relax completely.

From the corner of his eyes he could see both his teammates on either side of him. Sasuke to the right, Sakura on the left. He fidgeting uneasily. The blond wasn't around people all that much. Or at least, usually he was a ghost in the crowd, for all he interacted with others. This was something he found himself unfamiliar with.

And not in a happy "let's try new things" way.

Nope, he was content with having limited experience of certain things.

_"Pinky-one and Pinky-two!"_

_"No no! Cherry and Duck!"_

_What the fuck?_

Naruto did not need friends. Nor talk with people. He had plenty of bonding moments in his head.

"Name. Rank. Reason for joining. Any notable strengths, weaknesses."

Sakura gulped visibly and gathered herself. Obviously Naruto wouldn't be starting the conversation and Sasuke didn't look inclined to open his mouth either._ So it's my job to get this going._

"I'm Haruno Sakura, and I've just graduated-Genin." The mask gave no sign of approval or disapproval. It was eerie. "..I joined because.." Her mind went blank. She was like a deer in the headlights. _Stupid, stupid!_ _Focus!_"I will be a strong kunoichi! And make tou-san proud." she added, trailing off at the end. "I have a strong mind and understand most theory quickly..and I can detect most low level illusions. My taijutsu could use some work." Sakura mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed. They probably thought she was lazy or never practiced, or didn't work at all or something.

Kakashi levelled his masked face with her. "You ramble. Next."

"Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm a genin; top of the class." He boasted a bit, bolstering his confidence. This man had a way of making him feel like dirt. "I have no reason _not_to be a shinobi," Sasuke frowned. "I would also like to prove certain people wrong." A bit of a hard edge entered his voice there, but no anger broke his calm. "My taijutsu is balanced and I can perform more ninjutsu than the average rookie. I.." he paused. Kakashi wanted some sort of answer, and defiance was not a good idea. He did want to live a little longer, and with all of his body parts intact. "My genjutsu could use some work..as well my skill of working in groups."

"Arrogant. Too big of an ego."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"..."

-Mask-

"..."

-glare-

"..."

"You're a quiet one, eh?"

Sasuke and Sakura prepared for some crazy killer intent or whatever ANBU did when shit hit the fan-for Naruto to be pounded into the ground-all of them fucked beyond imagination, even the Hokage wouldn't be able to identify their remains---

"I like you."

"What the hell?!"

Sakura and Sasuke stared each other; they had both lost control and screamed in sync. And Kakashi hadn't decapitated, maimed, or otherwise inflicted terrible pain or injury to them.

It was mind boggling.

They could've sworn he was _fucking smiling_ at them.

Or just fucking with there minds.

"Language, language. Come here tomorrow..mm, about an hour before sunset..maybe two."

Poof! Smoke. Distortion of air and all that.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, her mouth open. Then pivoted on her foot to Naruto. She shut her mouth, and swivelled back to Sasuke. "What..what was that all about?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Some jounin tend to have strange tendencies."

"Strange?! That was more than just a bit of an eccentricity!"

"He's _ANBU_."

And that settled the matter.

---

Words: _2,011_

Bwahahaha! I can get away with ending it there I think. I already have an idea for chapter 3, so it should be up soon. I was cracking up while writing Kakashi. Please check out my other stories if you have time. And review! At times reviewers get sneak previews others don't..and uh, it inspires me? *cries* I'm sorry, I'm an addict! Must have reviews...*drools*

8/10/09


	3. ANBU screwing with geninawesome!

Yay! All my reviews are showing up. Cookies to all!!! *Starts randomly throwing cookies*

SaphireWhiteWolf: Marshmallow people!! *pats on head* It's ok, I'm stupid too. Thanks! that was one of my favorite scenes..

Rizember: Are you feeling better? *gasps* Me? Subtle? Cool! I could never make him NOT a jinchuuriki. Naruto isn't 'mute' he just refuses to talk. So if kyuubi or someone else took control..^^

Dragon77: thanks! here ya go!

uchihabrat: hehe..nice name! hopefully this keeps you addicted. I hope this is a good fix for you. :D

Houkakyou: thanks, it's hard to pin down how they're supposed to act/react sometimes.

---Chapter 3: ANBU screwing with genin..awesome!

It was still dark out, the moon still visible, faintly. Most of the stars had fled; it was nearing sunrise. This resulting in an mystical twilight. A majority of people never witnessed this event; the guards didn't care as it wasn't an enemy, and most were tired. Travellers waited 'til daybreak when the sun would be at their back chasing away nighttime monsters, horrors.

Naruto was up to see it though.

In fact, most days he did.

It was rare if he was too exhausted to wake for it.

The blond was already dressed; dark green cargo-esque pants that stopped at his ankles, a brown shirt with a black pawprint on it. It wasn't a hard task as he slept in his clothes.

Silence was golden. He loved it when some part of him wasn't griping and making rude comments about others, sometimes directed at himself. Nor the overly cheerful voice, either. Naruto could do without. Over the years, their presence had grown stronger;the occasional headaches, worse.

The tile was hard under his his palms; he sat, legs straight out in front of him, shoulder with apart, leaning back on his hands. He was quiet and absolutely still as he watched the town from his vantage point of the roof. No point in waking the owners.

_"I'm gonna get that masked guy!" _Voice 1 snarled.

Naruto frowned. 'Why?'

_"'Cause he has a mask! They had masks!!" _

A pang flashed in his head, between and just behind his eyes. Like someone was driving a dagger through his temple, right through the skull to his brain.

_"Hey, hey hey! I don't like Mask either, 'ttebayo!"_ the cheery-one chimed in. He pictured a little kid amped up on sugar, jumping up and down, arms waving wildly.

The blond scowled, and mentally growled. _You woke him up!_ Whenever there was quiet he had the impression that they were sleeping.

His headache only increased.

A small breeze ruffled his hair.

Naruto stood, and starting leaping toward's the meeting place.

---

Sasuke made it onto the roof, in his typical garb; a blue shirt with the clan symbal on the back, and baggy white shorts. His hands were in his pockets and he slunk over to the rail, with a devil may care attitude. He noticed Naruto was already there, arms crossed, a frown on his face. He was reading a scroll and obviously wasn't happy with what it said. That made the Uchiha curious of it's contents. What could be bothering the blond, who was rumored to have had his soul sucked out? Devoid of any human reactions.

He heard footsteps behind him, coming closer, from the stairs. Sakura. They were lighter than his, naturally, as she weighed less.

All three were now here, gathered together.

"Ano..Good morning, Sasuke..Naruto." Her eyes slid to each of them in turn, lingering on Sasuke, and flicking nervously over to Naruto, then away.

She gave a weak attempt at a smile.

"What is that?" Sasuke asked, pointing at the scroll. He brushed off the greeting rather rudely. Sakura's face flushed. Not that they could tell, it was still dark.

Naruto ignored him.

Sasuke frowned.

Sakura looked back at the enigma nervously. "Did s..sensei leave us that?" She couldn't help but stutter over the word. It was hard to imagine such an intimidating figure working with kids.

Apparently finished reading, he half-rolled it back up and tossed it. Sasuke's arm whipped out like a snake, and he caught it mid-air.

"Well, what does it say?"Sakura prompted, a bit hesitant.

"We have to climb the Hokage Monument. And dig in the fourth's nose." Sasuke deadpanned.

"What, quit fooling around!!" She had never heard Sasuke mess around like this, and to insinuate doing something so disrespectful..!

Sasuke glowered. "Read it yourself." He shoved it in her face.

"What the hell is wrong with this man?!"

"I already told you,_ ANBU_."

---

"How are we going to get up there?" Sakura wondered, a bit worried and anxious. More than that, apprehensive. She'd never done something like this before. Sakura always kept her toes in line.

Naruto was more experienced in these feats, it seemed. He pulled out some rope. _Where did that come from?_ The pinkette shook her head.

"That's only enough for two people." Sasuke pointed out.

Stubbornly the blond held it out. Impatience getting the best of him, he dropped it at their feet and began feeling for hand holds.

Sasuke and Sakura stared as he began scaling the monument. They glanced at each other, than the rope. The kunoichi fidgeted. "Well, lets get going then, ne."

Being on this team was so awkward

_"Arrogant! Thinking we need rope!"_ His headache spiked.

_"No..no! I like Duck!!"_

Naruto wanted to bash his head against the cliff side.

He used the tried and true 3-4 method as he was in no hurry. The blond planted his feet, making sure the rock under his feet wouldn't give out on him, gripped the stone a bit tighter,and pushed down while lifting his other hand up, searching for a crevice or any other hand-hold of some sort that was solid and wouldn't crumble from the pressure. Finally he found a crack that had been worn by the wind, and enlarged bit by bit over time. Just enough room for his hand.

Hands locked onto the cliff, he lifted his left foot up, and pulled some with his arms, muscles taut. He was still scrambling for a hold, when the earth collapsed benaeath his feet. Gone! His legs swung wildly. His shoulders burned, and he struggled to lift himself up. With a burst of stamina, he pulled himself over the ledge. He scrambled up, and lay down, panting.

"Are you okay?!"

Naruto poked his head down to see a surprised Sasuke and concerned (shocked) Sakura staring back at him. _"We're fine Duck, Cherry!!"_

Sakura's face fell and she flinched when he suddenly scowled. What was he so annoyed about? They were (or SHE was) just worried about him.

Naruto shook his head, pushing back the pain. _shut. the. fuck. up._ Each word was laced with loving delibrate care. Everytime they spoke, they were louder.

And that scared him.

---

Sasuke and Sakura were on their backs, panting. Naruto was leaning against a bouder, nonplussed. Only a tightness around his eyes would suggest that he was perturbed at all.

Five minutes past. He stood still, letting them rest, not particularly caring. The blond could see they were tired, and needed rest.

But it got him antsy. Why had she shouted "Are you okay?!". He was unused to that. Even the Uchiha seemed relieved when it turned out that he didn't got splat on top of the village.

He was the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, and meant to be hated.

He could understand that.

Naruto was faced with nothing but loathing, or as if he were a ghost no one wanted haunting the village.

The blond glanced at his two teammates.

Haruno Sakura. She had pink hair, and it went down to her shoulders when she let it down. But most of the time she kept it up. Her eyes were a unique shade of coral green, and she always wore red and white in her outfit, someway, somehow. She did well in class, her only friend being Yamanaka Ino; she lived with her mother, just the two of them, after her father died two years ago.

Uchiha Sasuke-from the clan of traitors. His whole life was filled with shame, and somehow Naruto felt he could relate to that. His clan had plotted against the village, and on top of that he was the younger brother of Itachi; the Uchiha Retard who was said to have unlimited potential but had been stunted, damaged in some way. All round in appearance he was like a night creature-black hair that in the right light took on a bluish tinge, inky eyes, and pale skin.

He concluded they were tolerable.

But he would never turn his back to them.

"Okay." Sakura said. It seemed she would be the conversation starter. "We climbed to the top. Now what?"

"We get the scroll from the nose." His own nose wrinkled. It reminded him to much of picking boogers.

She nodded. "Right. But how will we do it?"

Unconscriously, they glanced at Naruto, to make sure he hadn't disappeared, or was gonna sneak up on them or something.

He held up a kunai, and then his gaze slid to the rope.

Sakura made the connection first. "We can use the kunai as a base, and tie a rope to it, then just climb down to the nose. Good idea." Naruto was..different (read: odd, creepy), but obviosuly he had a bit of a brain somewhere.

Sasuke grunted his approval. "Hn. Let's get going then."

Naruto stabbed the kunai into the stone, only getting the tip in. He frowned.

"Here, do this, loudmouth." Sasuke stepped on the hilt, lifted his foot up, and slammed down.

Two inches deeper.

Sakura tugged at it. Seemed sturdy enough. "Do you think it will hold?" She didn't want to risk her life over one crazy ANBU's twisted sense of fun.

Naruto gave no indication of wanting to answer or contribute, just staring at the kunai like it held the secret to life with an intensity that made her worried for his sanity.

It seriously couldn't be healthy! Not talking for twelve years..she could barely go three hours.

Sasuke got tired of just standing around. Honestly, they had gone ten consecutive minutes, just standing still like statues

Like they were trying to win a "who could be the most useless?" contest.

"Are we ninja or not?" He asked exasperated. Either the kunai would hold, or it wouldn't.

And if it didn't, they were an epic fail.

Dying because of a loose kunai was just a sorry way to go.

"Let's make sure it's secure first." She insisted. It seems she mirrored his thoughts.

No one desire to be the newest "Guess who died" gossip.

Naruto crouched down and shook it. Or tried to. It didn't budge.

That much.

"It won't get any better." Sasuke said, tying the rope around the hilt.

"Who goes down?" Sakura asked nervously.

Naruto stared at her.

Sasuke starred at her.

"Oh, why me?! It's because my hair's pink, isn't it? Well I'll have you know it's natural!! Huh, huh? What do you got to say about that?!" She screamed.

_"it's cause your a girl, and you've got no tits."_

They swore Naruto almost snorted.

"Your a girl," Sasuke pointed out, a matter-of-factly, "And you weigh less."

She blushed. "Oh. Okay. That makes sense I guess."

Shoulders back, chest out, head held high, she went forward. Moving toward the kunai bravely.

Biting her cheek, Sakura lowered herself, gripping the rope for dear life.

Literally.

_Oh why did i let them talk me into this?! _A sharp wind blew, making her sway. "Eep!" Even worse, the sun was only now starting to rise, leaving her in a shroud. _Damn them and their "superior" logic!!_

Did she forget to mention she had a fear of heights?

Yeah.

"Hold it steady!" Sakura shouted. She was on the bridge of the Yondaime's nose, and had about seven feet to go.

Finally, shen she thought her nerves would go (either that or the rope would snap) she made it to his nostril. Swayng below it, she steadied herself. "Deep breaths, Sakura." She told herself.

Bravely, she plunged in, sticking her arm up his nose, all the way to the elbow. Sakura snatched the first thing that felt like a scroll and then yanked her arm out. "I got it! Pull me up!"

The roped jerked around her waist, where they had tied it. "Ouch! Could you be a bit gentler?!" Normally, she wasn't this irrate, but in stressful situations her temper steadily disentegrated.

Being hauled up the mountain side by a rope that may or may not support her rope, and throwing all her faith into two boys that no one trusted, was just a bit above her level.

Just, ya know, for some reason.

Sakura was visibly relieved when she was on top of the monument once again.

"It's another scroll?" Sasuke questioned, a bit annoyed.

Sakura huffed. "Yes, it is." _What, no thank-you for my brave heroics? I was risking my life over there, hello!_ She soured a bit from their lack of appreciation.

Sasuke read the scroll aloud. "Good job..chipmunks..?"

Sasuke visibly twitched.

Naruto looked like he was gonna kill someone.

Sakura..was pissed.

"Stay up for 72 hours, or you fail. Have fun!"

They didn't have practice reading people, but Naruto clearly had a "what the fuck was that about?" expression on his face.

"Hey, there's a P.S.," Sakura pointed out.

_You can't leave your location during those 72 hours._

And then, their world started spinning, and they were going head over heels. Like they were being squeezed through a very small tube; the wind was batting at their faces. A whining sound was in their ears.

And then it stopped.

---

_Words: 2,510_..or something like that.

Bwahahaha! Whoever recognizes the game he's making them play, feel free to make suggestions. Also, where do you think they've been taken too?

Sorry, HKNB fans. I'm just having so much fun with this, but I'll try to get another chapter in before the month is out.

Hm. Kudos to those that catch the obscure Ranger's Apprentice reference. It's from the first book.

8/16/09


	4. Learning to get along ! or not

Gah! English Phase 3 is a bitch. This fish (freshie) ain't gonna last long. T.T was gonna upload this earlier, but had to go to band practice (6:30-8:30) sorry guys.

Dragon77: Thanks! I might be later than sooner since school has started though.. *cookie*

Rizember: Tests? For what? No problem! Hehe..yeah. Sorry, this one is kinda short too. O.o; Please don't kill me!! : O *offers junk food*

DarkTorrent: Hey, fellow NFer! Although I'm a she (can't really tell by the screenname). Thanks!! *cookie*

SaphireWhiteWolf: No errors? Awesome!!

A big thanks to Saph for beta-ing this!! *cookies* *cake*

About Pairings: So far my only suggestions are NaruIno ChouHina and SakuKiba, and those are what I'll be keeping in mind. Please let your opinions be heard! I'm up for yaoi and yuri, although I'm not sure if I could pull it off (this is where Riz and Saph come in), and threesomes and any type of het. Sorry, bet incest isn't just my thing. I can read it if I like the plot, but would prefer to stay away from that.

---Chapter 4: Learning to get along.."!#%"..or not. n

Familiar streets; dirt roads that were lined with stalls. Traditional houses with screen doors and tile rooftops dotted the compound. Even personal training grounds could be found here, if sporadically.

Sasuke's jaw dropped. He recognized all of this instantly..

Because this was his house!!

"W..wah?" Sakura sounded disoriented, and maybe even a little dizzy. She shook her head, uncrossing her eyes. "Sasuke? Do you know where we are?" The look on his face was fairly obvious.

Naruto did something suprising them all and tapped Sakura on the shoulder. She suppressed the urge to jump. "Y-Yes? What is it Naruto?"

He pointed to the Uchiha symbol on the wall (seeing as Sasuke was too out of it to reply). The red and white fan registered in her mind.

"Oh."

She fought the blush. _No. Now's not the time!_Sakura was in the Uchiha District~! Her crush's house was here..!

He grit his teeth, shoulders stiff. "Yes." he forced his muscles to relax. "It is." Sasuke..did not enjoy.. strangers in his..home. He hated how people gawked the night after the failed coup.

_'Look there!'_

_'Isn't he Fugaku's son?'_

_'I heard they tried to kill the Hokage!'_

_'Really?'_

_'Yeah, last night!They were planning a coup de'tat.'_

_'No!!'_

_'All the Uchiha save three are supposed to be exe-'_

Naruto blinked, and then glanced at the Uchiha fan on his back, and then over to the fan on the wall. Then he nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself, as usual.

Up in a tree, an unnoticed figure watched, not showing his reaction to the events at all. Inwardly though, he was filled with amusement. _Who knew genin could be so fun?_As it was his duty-bound, ex-ANBU, crazy sensei, job, he watched over his little ducklings faithfully, noting their habits and movements, memorizing them in case it was ever needed. The mask just titled before the figure flitted away.

Sakura only had time to let out an 'oomph' before something hit the back of her neck, hard. Blackness overtook her. Naruto half twisted around, and Sasuke pulled out a shuriken, before both being KOed.

The mask radiated pure smugness/happyness. OHKO, and all three. He still had it.

---

Naruto jerked awake. He jackknifed; not sensing an immediate prescence, he blinked and looked around groggily. His automatic "danger" response happened anytime he was knocked out by surprise, or woke up in an unfamiliar place. After his "shinobi moment" he took a few minutes to reboot however. Something he was unfamiliar with was beneath him.

He glanced down. Tatami mats. Figures. It was an average-sized, and rather empty room. His two teammates were still far from the land of the ramen-eating and bloodletting..er, living.

_"Destroy! Let's burn this bitch to the ground!"_

_"I'm hungry!! Let's eat. Now!"_

The blond winced. It felt as if someone was pounding against his head with a sledge hammer. A very big, heavy, hard.._metal_ sledge hammer.

Sasuke groaned. Naruto looked at him when he heard the moaning, his thoughts going to cranky cats very quickly. The dark-haired boy swung himself up, eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

The blond wondered why he was so calm in a "kidnapping, or whatever the hell happened to us, the point is I don't know" situation.

"..doin' here?.." The Uchiha mumbled. Naruto really couldn't make out what he was saying at all.

Sasuke's eyes slid drowsily from Naruto, to Sakura's prone form. Suddenly he jerked, really it was the love child of a really bad spaz attack and an exaggerated twitch. Naruto suspected Sasuke reached a record breaking two-inches with his jump.

"What the fuck are you two doing in my bedroom?!" He shouted, rightly worried. "And where in the fuck is my bed?"

His sudden (loud!) rantings startling Sakura into waking up.

She leered at him, clearly not fully awake, still half in dreamland.

Haruno Sakura heard "bedroom" and the first thing in her line of site was Sasuke. It was like living in her ultimate fantasy~.

"Are you awake?" He snapped. He didn't add the "quite ogling me" as it wasn't the time; she was clearly still out of it. But the real question was, why were they in his bedroom? And who had taken his bed?

It was all a bit rather disturbing.

Enough to put _anyone _in a bad mood.

"Wah?" She blinked, and then realizing where she was, and what she was doing, and who she was in the room with, Sakura snapped out of it. "Yes. Sorry." She answered tightly, feeling her cheeks light up like flames. A fire that could rival an Uchiha's Katon lit up her cheeks.

Sakura could feel Naruto's gaze on her back. "What?" She snapped, embarrassment overwhelming her, she slid into irritation.

That was an easier emotion to deal with.

The blond also (reluctantly) tugged on Sasuke's shirt sleeve to get his attention.

"What?" He still wanted to know where they put his fucking bed. And why the hell they were here, in his house of all places? His gaze followed to where Naruto's finger pointed.

Scrolls.

"More of them?" Sakura groaned.

He scowled. "It appears so."

Sighing, the Uchiha took one scroll, Sakura the other, and left Naruto the last one. He opened his, finding a small message scrawled on it. "Have fun. You can't leave the room." He read aloud.

Sakura's eye twitched. "You should get to know one another better, or at least, don't kill each other." With a small poof, several blank scrolls popped out, bottles of ink, and three brushes.

Naruto held his out, letting them both read it. _"Learn sign language, or make up a code or something."_

_That's helpful._ all three thought at once. Annoyance united them.

"I am going to kill him when this is over. I want my bed back."

If she wasn't made of stronger stuff, Sakura would have facefaulted. As it was, both she and Naruto and a moment of perfect synchronization sweatdropped.

Perfectly.

"We should think of this as a mission." She commented.

Sasuke blinked. "Why do you say that?"

"Well," her crush was paying attention to her! Hanging on to her every word.. "He's obviously ANBU."

Naruto jerked his head, an obvious "No". Sasuke caught on. "ANBU can't teach genin, only jounin." He pointed out, "translating" the blond's words so to speak.

Damn! Now he probably thought she was stupid. "Ex-ANBU then. He was still in uniform when he picked us up." Her crush nodded, conceding her point. "And ANBU is strict right? Like the elite of the elite."

"You only get picked for the job if you are the best." Sasuke commented.

"Exactly, so maybe this is like a mission, right? To prove our worth."

Naruto tilted his head, lips faintly turning down. It was a thoughtful look.

"..."

Sasuke finally broke the silence. "You might be right."

Naruto nodded in acquiescence, about five seconds later.

The gears were turning in Sasuke's mind. It was a mission. _Haruno is smarter and more useful than I thought._ he admitted. So what exactly then, were they supposed to do?

He thought to the previous scrolls' words. _We can't leave..must stay up for seventy-two hours..and he wants us to make a code?_At the very least it would keep them preoccupied.

"Our mission, it's too make a code based off of sign language in three days."

"But we can't fall asleep," Sakura added.

They turned to Naruto; on most teams all three would contribute, and they were used to that type of mentality. Seeing they wanted a response, he nodded.

"Okay then. Here Naruto, I know you don't write in class, and I guess it's because you don't want to talk to people." Sakura said. "But we're a team now," She remembered on the cliff, climbing together, Naruto nearly falling, both her and Sasuke in a panic, trusting them with her life as she dangled off the cliff, trusting their judgement, putting faith in them. "So we have to believe in each other, all of us."

A bit stiffly, he accepted the paper.

An awkward silence filled the room.

"C'mon, sit down! Do I have to tell you two idiots everything?"

Sheepishly, they all sat down in a circle.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "Let's get started then."

The sounds of rustling paper, "hms" "mhms" and "Fuck you, Sasuke!" filled the room. Then a loud smack!

"What was that for?" He asked in a tone that if it had been anyone else (it was beneath an Uchiha to ) would have been a whine, rubbing the back of his head.

She blushed. Sakura wanted to interact with Sasuke, and maybe even have him like her back..but still! "Don't give me that "what was that for?" bs, I saw you!" She pointed accusingly, now standing.

Naruto watched, eyes riveted, like a tennis match.

"You know what I'm talking about Uchiha! You were peaking down my shirt!"

"Why would I? There's nothing to see." He scoffed.

And secretly, while the other two were screaming with each other, the blond smiled.

_She's got one nice ass._ They thought in agreement.

---

_Word Count_: 1,724

Sorry, meant to put this up yesterday, but ran out of time. Just got back from my first day of school as a freshman..yay! (sarcasm). English homework: what the hell is this?!

Oh um, the game (originally at least) is/was treasure hunt and the Ranger's Apprentice reference was the "3-4 method" of climbing.

*tired..so tired*

8/24/09


	5. Flirting Fighting, and Finding Beds

Hey y'all! Yeah, it's been a while. School has been hectic, and I'm a really bad procrastinator, hehe. Moreover, I had to figure out HKNB first. Oh, and Rizember, this is me totally guilting you. More bunny dammit!!! I haven't made my idea's up for the pairings, and nothing major, if anything is going to happen until they are older. I'm not the best at romance. Please let me know what you think about this chapter guys. :)

---Chapter 5: Flirting, Fighting, and Finding Beds.

Biting his bottom lip, and brows creased, he was the epitome of concentration; all his muscles were tensed, especially his shoulders, and he was focused, intent on his one simple task:

Writing out the code.

Naruto didn't have the neat, slightly girlish handwriting of Sakura; she was an inherit neat-freak, always organized from what he could tell, besides the fact that she was a girl. Most he knew had nice handwriting. It was an unwritten rule. Sasuke, in his opinion would have better suited for the task. While not flowing or elegant by any means, it was miles ahead of his. The blond just simply didn't spend his time using the necessary muscles. He could write his hiragana out fairly well, and that was good enough; kanji was another matter entirely.

_"can't catch the letters!! gagh! they keep swimming away!!"_

The gibberish in his made sense in a way; every time he blinked, one of the characters seemed to have shifted. Maybe they really were moving around..

_"Pinky brought ghosts!"_The other other moaned.

Or maybe he just couldn't see straight because of the raging headache. _'My head is splitting_ _open.'_

The rest of day one passed without much incident..well, Sasuke had thrown a fit once when Naruto accidentally knocked over a bottle of ink, staining some ancient Uchiha thing (he was clocked so hard on the head tears were pouring from his eyes, so the blond wasn't sure exactly _what_he'd ruined), and then Sakura had gone at it with the Uchiha for "senselessly wailing on an already injured person".

Now Sasuke had two black eyes, and Sakura did as she pleased.

Both the boys had a moment of brilliant, wordless communication. '_Don't ever make her angry.'_

Best words of advice. Ever.

Also, she was now in charge, and they wordlessly (not strange for Naruto) did as she said (odd for Sasuke and his ego).

All three (mainly Sasuke and Sakura, with occasional input from the mute blond) worked on creating the code, basing it off the most random things; tons of inside jokes made their way in. Of course, when asked to report, they would say it was done with the greatest sense of professionalism, and based on previous "code structures" mentioned in class. On a whim, it was decided that each of them would have a code name, decided by the other two.

So far, they'd come up with fourteen words, and eleven separate gestures to go with them. Team 7 didn't limit themselves to hand signals; blinks, twitches, they went the whole nine yards. Most of it of course would just be getting to know each other better, adjusting to each other's body language and learning each other's unique gestures.

Sasuke suggested something, and Sakura either agreed or objected to it; the two bounced idea's off of each other, and Naruto wrote it all down without much complaint. Once or twice he would pause or hesitate, writing an objection to the newest "word" or offer a suggestion of his own. But for the most part, it was like he wasn't even there. The blond was a ghost, a watcher.

At first, it made Sakura leery; stalker came to mind. The constant silent prescense gave her the feeling that someone was looking over her shoulder. And indeed, someone was _watching _her. But eventually she got used to it, at least to the point of not jumping every time he spooked her. He didn't even have to do anything, make any sudden movements; he just had to be there, staring, when she turned around. Sasuke gave no indication that it disconcerted him at all; perhaps he was used to the extremely quiet behavior from his older brother. Or it was his Uchiha pride.

Or something.

It was hard to tell how time passed. The room was windowless, and the lights, it seemed, were permanently on. Eventually however, Naruto could sense that a certain amount of time had passed, and could feel the weariness pressing down on him. Also, something he never could quite grasp nor explain stirred within him. Awareness, not quite his own spread over him. The alien presence wasn't malicious from what he could tell..just odd. Flicking his eyes up from the paper, he saw that his teammates began to tire as well.

Reluctant to draw attention to himself, but knowing it was necessary, he set down the brush, and formed a fist with his hand. Lips twitching in a frown, the blond slammed his hand into the wood.

The resounding knock was rather loud and short. Sasuke jerked up comically, and blinked rapidly. When he saw Sakura leaning against him, hugging his arm, he stood up and shoved her off violently and rather rudely.

"What was that for Uchiha?!" The girl snarled, offended. She rubbed her sore head sourly.

He raised his hackles, not backing down. "Why are you yelling at me! I'm not the one that nearly fell asleep and started slobbering all over people's arms!"

Naruto watched the free entertainment in appreciation. Socially awkward? Yes. Creepy, odd, strange? All of the above. Ignorant of how to press people's buttons?

He was a natural-born manipulator.

Or maybe he spent to much time alone.

Although, in the scheme of things..did it really matter?

_"pinky an ducky are fighting!!"_ The childish one shouted in excitement. Eagerly, he shoved the angry one back, vying for a better view.

Naruto's frown deepened as a headache formed.

_"move it pipsqueak!"_ the other snarled. _"more, more!! I want to see blood_!" it cried, encouraging the violence, excited in it's own way.

Sasuke and Sakura were wresting on the floor, like dogs trying to determine who the alpha was. Sakura let loose a cry of victory, having the dark haired boy pinned beneath her; she was sitting on his chest, knees on either side of him on the floor. She dug her elbows into his upper arms, gripping his left list attempting to bend it back. She panted, face above his, only inches apart. "Give it up..Uchiha!"

"Never!" He growled. With his free hand, Sasuke went for the most dirty, underhanded tactic in the book: he started tickling her, getting under her armpit. She couldn't help herself, and started laughing. As a result, her grip loosened, and he thrust his newly freed hand up, pushing her shoulder away, and using the momentum flipped. They did a 180, switching in a few seconds, and a couple of new bruises.

"And you were saying?" He drawled.

Sakura just wanted to scream! Later on, she might look back on this moment and blush, maybe even giggle, because she was just so close to him; her crush was talking to her! Touching her! Of course, she had never imagined how possibly annoying he could be. She'd hoped he could avoid being an annoyance, but alas it seemed to come with him being a boy. In vain, the girl struggled, squirming and and attempted to kick him, right where it hurt.

Unfortunately, he had her pinned.

Totally pinned.

As in his body was lying completely on top of her pinned.

Her feelings and body betrayed her, and Sakura blushed despite herself. She chalked it up to anger, and dismissed the possibility of any embarrassment and any other feelings. She hoped Sasuke thought of it that way too; anything else would be ridiculous. Sakura squinted, and wondered if she thought there was a tint of pink on his cheeks to. Not that any of that occurred to the two; they were to filled with frustration, focused on their battle of dominance and pride. Both were more high strung than they cared to admit. Adrenaline fueled their rampage, and also brought on excitement.

After a few moments, Sasuke realized his position, and got up, breathing hard himself. He wanted to bolt, but the iron control instilled by his pride refused that. He wasn't a touchy feely person, not in the least. Sasuke watched in amazement as Sakura, after her loss..started laughing. He sat down, and tried to process the scene, but he remained puzzled.

She saw that, and stopped after a few minutes. "Oh, come on. It was kind of fun." Sakura trailed off, avoiding eye contact. She didn't normally lose control, let herself go like that.

Privately she found it kind of fun. She wondered if that was what people that had brother's and sisters did; Sakura didn't have any as she was an only child and she rarely saw her cousins. Rough housing in her household was few and far between. When she was younger, her father had wrestled with her. _"Rawr! You can't run away from me! I'm the mighty bear!"_Sakura lingered on the sudden memory for only a few moments before thrusting it away.

Sasuke turned to their silent teammate. "Naruto..you wouldn't have anything to do with what happened..right?" He hadn't given to much thought to what had happened, half-asleep and all, but now as he thought about it..was that a smirk of amusement he saw on the blond's face?

Sakura noticed the direction Sasuke was facing and his line of sight. "You traitor!" she called out mockingly. "I thought you were the good one."

His eyes widened for a moment, and he paled slightly, and the look of foxy amusement was wiped off his face completely. Naruto stilled, an odd look in his eye.

"I was just kidding, relax." She said in mild concern. Sakura wondered at his reaction-it was extreme for just a small joke. The mild teasing similar to what happened between her and Ino when they were messing around was so common and everyday for her. Was he really that alone that it was completely foreign to him? _What a weirdo,_she thought. Sakura couldn't help her initial reaction-it was ingrained, like an instinct almost, to find him odd and strange. She felt a bit guilty though-Naruto had pulled through when she was dangling on the rope, and proved himself to be reliable.

And so, the first day had passed.

---

Sasuke sat stiffly; several hours had passed since he and Sakura had nearly fallen asleep. By now he judged that is was the second day, or at least close enough. By mutual, and wordless, consent they had decided to take a break-it was near impossible to go on any longer, especially while so exhausted. He made it a point not to allow himself to get too comfortable, lest he find himself nodding off again.

All three it seemed to have taken up what was "their" area of the room. It vaguely reminded him of when he and Shishui had divided Shishui's room down the middle with some tape; he had been staying with his cousin as his father was off on clan business, and his mother was sick. No one crossed into another's area, happy enough in their own spot.

He himself was in the corner, diagnol from the door. Or at least, where the door should have been. _I know a door was there yesterday. _Or had he just imagined it? It was hard to tell; Kakashi was rather eccentric, and Sasuke wouldn't put it past the man to cast a powerful genjutsu on the place. _That bastard is fucking insane. _Sasuke was still pissed that someone had stolen his bed.

Honest-to-God it was HIS! His _fucking_ bed _dammit_, and he wanted to know where the hell it was!!

_Now._

Although it seemed a bit..obsessive, the thing had real sentimental value to him-he, his father, and Itachi had made it together. Well, he had gotten in the way, more than anything, like most little kids (he was only about four at the time) and Itachi had been having one of his better days. And the other reason was that possessive behavior just seemed to be in his blood.

Most of all, the Uchiha was just irritated that someone had dared to take something from him.

Finished with his unexpected rant, Sasuke flicked his eyes around the room, observing his teammates. Sakura was to his right, in the back of the room like him. One knee was pulled up to her chest, and the her other leg was lay straight out in front of her on the floor. She seemed to be fidgeting. Naruto was across from Sakura, in a corner of his own, legs crossed similar to a meditating position. His head was tilted back against the wall, and his arms were crossed in front of his chest.

"So..are we getting back to work?" Everyone seemed to be getting antsy, so best to get more work done, right? He knew they shouldn't be wasting time anyway.

Sakura seemed to be pushy back a yawn, but soon got up, stretching as she did. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Naruto?" She called. It was hard to tell with him as he gave no vocal indication.

The blond nodded, getting up a bit stiff. He was still sore, though most of his injuries were all but gone.

They had a lot of work to do.

---

Words: 2,324

Meh, I could have put more, talked about day two..but I figure that's pretty good, especially after having to wait two months. :) That wresting scene was kind of spontaneous, and fun. Unfortunately Saph (saphirewhitewolf for those who don't know) my usual beta is grounded at the moment. Oh well, I know someone will point out any glaring errors for me.

I would like to express my sympathy to all those injured at Fort Hood, and to all the families who lost loved ones. My prayers are with you all.

Thank you, for all those currently in the military, and veterans for what you do for us every day, protecting our freedoms.

11/13/09


	6. Paranoia

Is it really only Tuesday?? I wish it was Friday. :( Thanks for all the reviews you guys! Also everyone who has me alerted faved or added me to a Uchiha in particular. This chapter goes out to you for reviewing five times in a row. And I am wishing certain people would update certain stories.. coughbunnycough. For those of you that don't know Fort Hood is a military base in Texas.

**Warning:** Unbeta-ed. Some foul language.

--- Chapter 6: Paranoia

Eggs for breakfast, again. Scrambled-they were yellow and soggy. Itachi frowned. He liked it when they ate rice; rice could be eaten with chopsticks..and was good.

Where was Sasuke? He wondered. Sasuke wasn't home. That didn't fit. Sasuke always came home-Mother would make rice balls, and put out tomatoes..and then Sasuke would appear.

Like clockwork.

Could the clock be broken? Or was Sasuke hurt? That would be bad. Itachi bit his lip; his head was started to pound heavily..he didn't like remembering _bad._

Mother was saying something, chattering at him; he didn't listen. Didn't she see something was going on?

Something was very _wrong._

_---_

Mikoto was worried. Of course she had been informed that they were _training,_ typical _normal _genin behavior..but why had it been two days? She of course, had been a kunoichi once, but was forced to retire once her firstborn had arrived. She had only made it to chuunin, but she knew this wasn't typical, normal _genin _behavior. Mikoto suppressed a shudder, as she wondered what they were up to, where Sasuke could be. If anything, this reminded her of an ANBU drill, her sister-in-law had talked to her about it several times. Mikoto's brother had been ANBU.

She didn't like this pattern.

Even Itachi was becoming agitated. And he didn't react to much at all.

"So, what do you want to do today, Itachi?" She chattered, trying to remain some semblance of normalcy. "It's very sunny today, good weather for flower picking."

"Sasuke."

She froze.

The words were caught in her throat and would likely remain there. Afraid he would shatter like glass, she did not run up and give her son a crushing hug, like she wanted to. No, Mikoto smiled and walked over calmly, "Sasuke will be home soon dear, he is doing important, genin training." she embraced him gently.

Mikoto would lie, if only for him.

---

"What about danger?" Sakura asked, smoothing out a sheet of paper, "Kyu-ichi-ichi?"

Naruto didn't look up; ever since her errant comment the other day (or was it hours ago?) he had been quieter than usual, if possible. The blond seemed to have withdrawn himself. However he was contemplative if anything; Naruto didn't look like he was shutting himself off completely from the world.

Sasuke blinked a few times, and pinched himself. "Nine-one-one? Where did you get that from?"

"I thought it over a lot, actually. The kyuubi attacked eleven years ago, and it has nine tails," she pointed out, "and then the one-one..I don't know! Just to make it different I guess. Less obvious than just plain old eleven." Sakura grumbled; she actually had more private reasons for the last two numbers, but didn't feel comfortable sharing them.

Both boys seemed to regard her reasons suspiciously. Honestly, it was a weak excuse; sleep addled peoples' minds though, and frankly did it really matter? Not every code word had to have a five hour long,thoroughly reasoned meaning behind it.

"That could work," the Uchiha conceded, "but don't you think referring to the nine-tails is a little extreme? 'something is very wrong' or 'disaster' might fit better."

"Does the context really matter?" She snapped.

Sasuke could see he had gotten under her skin, and had enough tact to back off. Every hour, they as a whole had grown more irritable. "It's fine."

"No, kyu-ichi-ichi can be our word for 'something is very wrong', it doesn't matter," Sakura now insisted, softening.

He thought he would scream.

"Let's think about it later." The Uchiha concluded, hoping to turn the conversation in a different direction. This was only frustrating him, and leading to dangerous waters.

After a few more minutes, debating if a few words should just be left alone, instead of being made into code to trick any eavesdroppers into thinking the word stood for something else, embracing the full mindfuckery that came with being a ninja, they drifted off into silence. Idly, Sasuke wondered just how in the hell Uzumaki got beat up so bad. No, beat up wasn't even quite the word.

More like kicked the shit out of.

The Uchiha let the thought run around in his head for a while. Who would have the time, or motive? Really beating the tar out of some kid, who was a ghost more than anything, was it worth it? It didn't add up at all to Sasuke-but maybe it just didn't make sense because he was so tired..

SLAP!

"OW!! What the hell Sakura?!!?"

He rubbed his now sore-recently-slapped cheek, feeling the odd, unmanly urge to cry. That was _SO_ not called for. _Why me?! What the fuck did I ever do to deserve this? This must be fucking karma or something. Damn cow-worshipping weirdos!_* He did not sign up for this. Or better yet: What. in. the. name. of. all. the nine- levels- of- hell (!!!) was wrong with these people??? (read: her)

Sasuke swore he heard Uzumaki snicker.

Sasuke glared. And then pouted.

In a very majestic, manly, passed-down-through-the-generations, secretly patented way of course.

"You were starting to fall asleep." She answered sweetly.

It was then that he banged his head against the wall. Very hard.

---

Sakura rubbed her eyes, suppressing a groan. Miserable! Had only another ten minutes gone by since she gave Sasuke his wake up call? Admittedly it was perhaps a bit harsh, but it was effective and highly amusing-it seemed fair to her. At the moment Sakura was not liking this-being stuck in the same room with two guys for three days; without food, little water, no soap and absolutely no privacy.

A few hours ago was when the bathroom issue came into play. That had brought a new level of uncomfortable to the team. Sasuke had curtly, and rather sarcastically suggested that she just "hold it". How the hell was she supposed to that? It had been TWO HOURS. Two hours, playing mind games, waiting for the unwanted feeling to pass. Her reply had been short, and possibly just a little bit angry. Naruto, in a rare moment of thoughtfulness tore off a few floor boards and turned around.

The self-made latrine did its job as best as humanly possible. It still stunk, and Sakura knew she would never live it down; her only comfort was that the guys had to use it too.

_Gross. _Just thinking about it was nasty. The only good thing was that it took her mind off how dirty, grimy and grungy she was. Sakura didn't know how she'd gotten so sweaty, just that her clothes were sticky, and stunk, just like the rest of her. Not to mention her armpits. Sakura desperately needed to shave and take a shower. She hated how her hair was so greasy now, and the entirely pointlessness of it. If she was on some important, life-saving mission (or life _ending _for that matter) for the good of Konoha, the girl could understand, and maybe even suck it up.

But this?

It was just pointless torture.

_Ok, really, different subject..._Sakura searched the room for the umpteenth time. Naruto. _If there is anyone that's feeling worse than me, it's him._ She recalled the nasty bruise and slash across his throat. _Ugh. What if its festering by now? _Sakura glanced at him covertly to check. _Wow, it's healed up nicely, like that giant stab wound was never the-Wait! Wait-wait-wait! Hold up. Just a day or two ago he was hurt bad, like he got run over, I mean someone tried to cut his throat!! How the hell is it practically gone?? Does he have some freaky kekkai genkai that lets him heal fast?_

Sakura tried to make her brain work and come up with a logical solution. Really, she did; the girl should get a medal. But it was impossible for her to figure out-by normal means there was no way for it to have happened. _Am I hallucinating?_ She wondered. _Maybe I should check with Sasuke, see what he thinks._ If he saw it to, it meant she wasn't crazy. Slowed by the lack of rest, she opened her mouth about to blurt out her question, but stopped herself before the first word made it past her lips. _This is kind of a big deal, and Naruto's keeping it a secret, or I think he is. He has to know how he heals so fast, right?'_ But if he didn't know, it would make it even more awkward.

Or maybe not.

If he knew, it might be worse, because then he had some dirty little secret. A secret that might be dangerous, dark even.

Unable to help herself, Sakura looked at her teammate one more time.

Writing down the code, slightly peeved maybe, but that was understandable. The hours they were putting in were crazy.

Sakura watched him..

Looking normal.

---

"Kakashi, you are wanted."

He blinked, and swivelled around, holding the intruder at knife point. the ANBU looked down to confirm their identity-paranoia never hurt in his line of work..Or maybe he just liked threatening people with kunai. The chakra felt roughly familiar; then again, he was attuned if only vaguely, to every person's chakra within the village..however he'd come into contact with this presence a few more times than in passing. Glancing down he saw brown hair, that was relatively thick and curled.

"Ah, Kurenai, it's you." He acknowledged. then he dug the knife deeper, drawing just the barest hint of blood. The ANBU could feel her stiffen; she was leaning against his chest, and only his armor prevented him from hearing her heartbeat. "But you know how we are about revealing names. That was rather _rude _of you." The threat, warning, however you take it, was subtle but effective. He knew this jounin wasn't stupid. "You keep slipping up, that's the only thing that's keeping you from being in the ranks.

She winced, though he couldn't see, as if she were hearing different harsher words. "My apologies..Inu. As I was saying, Hokage-sama would like a word."

"And leave the torture of my charges to someone else? My, my, little jounin; that wouldn't be responsible-what is that they are teaching you these days?"

He could feel her sigh. "No times for games today, _Kashi_. They will be attended to. Go see Hokage-sama."

Giving for now, he releashed her, and disappeared.

---

Naruto twitched. Once again everyone had halted and come to a break. The blond wanted _out. _An increased sense of wariness was rising up within him-why did his teammates keep giving him odd looks? Surely they didn't suspect anything? Sasuke had switched his gaze from the wall, over to him once, but had gone back to couting all the cracks in the ceiling. Naruto put him back on his priority list, for now. Sakura might have thought she was sly, but his mind worked better than hers when weary. He was used to restless nights, headaches, distractions. Naruto could see the odd glance or two. Luckily, she wasn't focusing on the whiskers on his cheeks-no she was looking at his throat.

Naruto raised his hand subconsciously and touched the wound; he went pale. It felt healed, or as healed as it would ever be. _Of course! Idiot!_ This was even _worse._

_'Fool!! You can't escape it..the master sees you, sees us. No one can hide from him.'_ His bitter half cackled.

_Shut up._

_---_

Words:_ 2, 090_

*I'm not making fun of Hindu's. It's just somewhat of an inside joke, and a very long story. The only one that would really get it is Dicey.

Yay!! Fast updatey-ness. And New Moon comes out Friday..maybe I'll go on the weekend and see it.. Leave any comments please. Flames even. I haven't gotten one yet amazingly.

11/17/09


	7. Lulu Meets Tomatoes and Zombies

I'm kind of scaring myself with my update speed. Hopefully y'all think it's still good quality. Read 472 btw. Anyone else? Saph, you ungrounded? Ok, my mind is blank, on with the story!!

--- Chapter 7: Lulu meets Tomatoes and Zombies

Food. Just something hot ..warm..cold to put in his stomach.

All he wanted was some fucking food.

Sasuke's stomach was past growling and complaining, and long ago past the rumbling and demanding point. It was just plain empty; aching and sore, having nothing to digest. The stomach missed it's job, and his body missed the calories and energy that went with it. The genin could feel his mind working slower and slower; at first it was subtle, but now he recognized how hard it was to do things that normally came easily.

Tomatoes. Ah the most perfect, golden food of all. With their luscious curves, beautiful red color that just pleased the eye..every heaven-filled bite as the juices ran down his chin and throat. Completely delectable to the taste buds..Mmhm.._tomatoes_..so good..and yummy..so _satisfying_.

Given his current fantasies, it was obvious he was starving. His mind was rotting away each stinking hour at a time.

Damn. Even ramen was starting to look good.

_Hell..I could even go for some ice cream..yeah..._

It wasn't until several minutes later that Sasuke realized he was drooling.

---

Sakura was officially going to kill Kakashi.

In fact, she was already forming a plan.

..a very devious sleep deprived plan.

---

_"kill 'em kill 'em kill 'em"_

_"don't let pinky an ducky tell!!!"_ The hyper one shrieked hysterically, all stirred up from the chaos, while the darker sadistic one chanted in the background, getting louder and louder.

Naruto couldn't help but slip a bit and cringe; the other two were too out of it to notice. _Shut up. Shut up. Shut up._Was his only conscious thought. Ever since he had notice their staring, he had grown more paranoid. The angry one's comment only served to rile the childish one up, who was now crying and screeching; apparently it didn't want Sakura or Sasuke dead, but also didn't want any secrets coming out.

_Why?_ He finally snarled, catching the kid's attention. _Why do you care if they still like you after this? Or if they are killed? They aren't your teammates; they're mine! They don't even _know_ about you._

_"know 'bout us!!"_ it insisted.

_No_. He thought coldly, _there _is_ no us._

He could feel both of them recoil and draw back, growing quieter. The "kill 'em" vibe kept going though, at a constant rhythm. The blond had a feeling the kiddish voice was more upset than the other one; it cared about nothing except carnage as far as Naruto knew. Then again, the blond had never actively tried to get to know them-he had better things to do with his time and other things to pursue. But after a while it was easy to pick up on certain personality traits.

Such as revelling in cold-blooded murder.

Luckily the other one was just very hyper-active and childish, like a brat on a sugar high.

---

"I wonder what forehead is doing?" Ino's comment caused Chouji to pause his chewing (he had gum instead of the usual chips as Asuma had stated he would need _both_ hands for the mission) and turn towards her.

He stopped raking as he considered her question. That was one thing about her chubby teammate the blonde didn't entirely mind-while some considered him a slow thinker, he was considerate and treated any question seriously. Chouji was thoughtful and rarely gave a quick two-second reply like "yeah" or "really?". She still couldn't get over how much he ate however; the skinny girl couldn't fathom it.

Shikamaru appeared as if he'd rather be sleeping; but then again he always had a dopey look on his face. Ino may have known both the boys since childhood but really, Shika acted like everything was dull and as a consequence could be rather boring himself. The Nara was a horrid partner when it came to chatting, as a result she often gossiped with Chouji. If anything was redeeming, sans his incredible intelligence, it was his ability to keep a secret.

Asuma observed the whole situation from a tree branch, smoking a cigarette. Ino detested his habit of smoking with a passion; out of his flaws it was only this one vice that really bothered her. She didn't care what others said, about how "cool" it was-if you smoked you started _smelling. _It got on your clothes and everything-the scent was impossible to get out. Ino sniffed her arm worriedly; the smoke started clinging to others even if they didn't light up themselves and she didn't want to get chewed out by her mother.

Stifling a sigh, Ino wrinkled her nose at the thought of how evil cigarettes wear; it made one's breath foul and even turned people's nails yellow.

Finally, the Akimichi seemed to have come up with his answer. "She's on a team with Sasuke and Naruto, right?" Ino nodded, feeling exasperated with his reply. "I imagine they're on a mission, like we are." He stated, not seeming to get the point of a question with such an obvious answer.

This time the Yamanaka did sigh, a bit frustrated. "That's not what I meant. I haven't seen Sakura in like three days. No one can be that busy!" Ino pouted slightly, leaning against her own rake. They were supposed to be raking up the leaves in some woman's yard; she was a retired chuunin, and elderly, her knee completely shot. As a result she had a hard time getting around.

"Well, I'm sure she's fine. Maybe they're doing some secret training." Shikamaru spoke up. Ino turned to him and blinked dubiously. Shikamaru speaking..willingly? Not being prodded? That was a miracle in itself. The blonde would later on what really surprised her was that he was being _nice._ Those were words of comfort, reassurance.

"Yeah, I guess so," she dropped it, although still annoyed.

Time to pick a new topic.

---

"How many words do we have?"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched; she felt like a zombie, Naruto was acting like one (though really that wasn't a difference from his normal behavior), and Sasuke sounded like he was part of the living dead.

_Does it even matter any more? Fuck this_. She thought irritably; her ire was quickly turning into a dangerous anger.

"Those were his orders." Sasuke said spookily. Naruto just gave her a look; not a "what the fuck are you on..(and can I have some)?" look..or even a "you are fucking retarded..what the hell are you doing here..clearly your brain was thrown up as a child..really". Just an odd look that only the strange blond could produce.

"Shit," she slipped, normally she didn't cuss, "did I say that out loud?"

It was then that Sasuke attempted to give her the whole "retard..brain was thrown up" look. It just didn't work as well on his face though. His eyes weren't dead and apathetic enough.

It just didn't look good on him.

"That doesn't really work for you." Sakura said absently.

Naruto shoved a paper at Sasuke with a number written on it.

"45?" He asked, more than stated. He couldn't really tell what it was supposed to be (the reading function in his brain had shut down five hours ago)..ooh..was that a 94..maybe?

The blond just snatched the piece of parchment from him and crumpled it up.

Sakura took it back and smoothed it out. She read it before tearing it to shreds, because she could, and frankly the girl wanted to do something..violent.

"That's a 82, Uchiha."

"I wasn't asking you, _bunny."_ He sneered.

She seemed taken aback, but then smirked. "Oh, I forgot, I'm talking to the mighty Uchiha, who is otherwise referred to as _LuLu _because that's what he named his ego after proclaiming his wish to marry a tomato." Sakura said it all smoothly, and then laid back and watch, daring him to bounce back in with a come back.

"I'm glad to see all of you are learning to get along." The voice was strong and feminine.

They all spun around, hearing a strange voice.

It was a young woman dressed unusually. It was almost as if she were in nothing but loosely wrapped bandages, with a red shirt underneath; one side was sleeveless and the other arm was covered by the shirt sleeve entirely. Her hair was a medium brown shade a lightly curled, falling to her shoulders; it contrasted greatly with her pale skin and Sasuke couldn't help but wonder if she had a bit of Uchiha blood in her, for her eyes were an unusual bright ruby color. What Sakura noticed was how dark and thick her eyelashes were; was it mascara or was she gifted with long lashes? Naruto just stiffened a bit, paranoid as always.

In their own way, all were entranced and captivated.

Team 7 didn't say anything-after three days, they weren't inclined to be friendly with anyone. The silent "who are you?" was fairly obvious.

Politely she indulged them. "I'm Kurenai. Kakashi is currently..busy, and I've been assigned to retrieve you."

Sakura broke first. "You mean after three damn days of pissing in a hole with two other guys, stinking like a pig, and ..and just..that bastard just dares to not even show up?!" She demanded, shaking with a tired rage, panting.

Kurenai frowned a bit. It was subtle, so no one but Naruto caught it. "As I've told you..he's busy. However he told me that you are all to be given a day of rest before meeting him again."

"I want out." Sasuke voiced everyone's thoughts. "And I also want my fucking bed back."

---

Words: 1,766

Kind of short. Oh well. The "thrown up brain" thing is kind of a long story. Basically in spanish one of my friends was like "oh, so you threw up your brain as a child..that explains so much!". She was talking about this one guy, who's kind of funny actually. Please let me know what you think people! Hm. Song and Kiss is a pretty good story, if you like the supernatural and are in to yaoi. I'm hoping to see New Moon soon. Almost Thanksgiving!

11/20/09


	8. Unfolding Plot

I wanted to make this at least 4k, but it ended up just under 3k. Oh well. R&R please and feel free to ask any questions!

Warning: unbeta-ed.

Chapter 8: Unfolding Plot?!

"Oh god. I just want to sleep!" Sasuke muttered, before collapsing face first. Or at least, that was what was supposed to come out. To anyone else, it sounded like "Ogh. uswa tsl."

Sakura blinked blankly at Kurenai, as if she had forgotten what sleep was; it was so close, she could almost touch it, but the knowledge, the memory of the experience, kept slipping away. It was a foreign delight. _Something._ Some part of her thought she was rambling. The hunger pains were making her ache, but at the same time she was immune to them. After she registered this, she gave the one finger salute to Kakashi, who she swore was there. But that couldn't be right. Kurenai was here to pick them up, not that blasted man, she thought before her eyes fluttered.

Naruto stared blankly. Tired or not, it was a stranger. And Naruto trusted no one. Over the past three days he'd learned to tolerate his team (they might have even grown on him, a tiny part whispered) and maybe that explained why he was more on edge than usual. He had to watch all three of them, not just himself. But he was just too tired...exhausted. His body betrayed him, the anger and kid both screeching for him to stay awake, helping in their own strange way. The blond grimaced as he fell back and lost consciousness.

Kurenai frowned. She didn't want to have to explain this to the Hokage.

"I better not get chewed out for this." The jounin murmured as she shunshined away, having all the genin in a firm grip.

---

"Kakashi, I thought I told you to take it easy on them." The Hokage chided, only to receive a blank stare in response.

Mask.

Annoyed Hokage.

Mask.

Anno-

Sarutobi sighed. "Do you lack even the decency to take down your mask before your commander?"

"I like the mask." He murmured in a grizzled tone that would be intimidating to anyone else. As a badass Hokage in charge of a village of killer ninja, he had partial immunity. He was fully resistant because he had changed Kakashi's diapers when he was still a "Hatake-brat." and witnessed him streaking and cackling madly through the village.

Right in front of a foreign diplomat.

Kumo had reserved a special hatred for him after that.

"They always turn strange after ANBU. I never should have let you join." Sarutobi said wryly, shaking his head. Then it was business. "I want a full report." He gazed at the man for a while, knowing if he pushed him too hard (even in the simplest of matters) he might break. And sometimes when things broke, they didn't just leave jagged edges, they sent deadly shrapnel flying. Swift like a kunai, the madness could impale others.

The Hokage had never seen a clean break.

Finally after five minutes (still holding "attention" the whole time) Kakashi spoke. "I like them. They're my grunts now."

"I trust that you won't want me to tell them that." He knew how the ex (was it really ex?) ANBU operated. And that he probably should have discharged the man sooner.

Kakashi just stood silently. That was answer enough. The ANBU (because who are we kidding?) watched the room, seeing if he knew who was on guard duty. ...There! Just a hint of movement in the corner. Newbies. Why was Captain putting newbies on the Hokage? He shook his head with the smallest of movements. Kakashi could feel a smug vibe coming from the doorway.

Damn. Captain had slipped by him. Kakashi didn't like to think he was growing rusty already-a training regime was in order.

But wait; now he had some damn newbies to take care of. He would just have to get them up the snuff first, and make his own work out a side priority.

Then he left, rather rudely, but he didn't really care.

---

She reappeared in front of the Haruno residence first, at midday. Kurenai took stock of her surroundings, as was second nature ingrained by hours of training. It was a small place, nothing impressive, but well built and had a taken-care of look, judging by the small flower box on the window sill. It was on the edge of the village near the cliff, out by the market. A ginger cat watched silently by the door.

Kurenai just couldn't very well leave the two boys out there while she delivered Sakura, so she hauled all three of them to the door and kicked it lightly with her foot-she had no free hands.

The small knock brought a frail, kind looking woman after a few moments. The jounin could immediately see Sakura in her mother's features-they shared the same small nose, lips, and even forehead. Immediately her face brightened at the sight of her daughter, then contorted into a grimace of concern.

"She's fine," Kurenai reassured her immediately, "Just sleeping off some mild exhaustion from training."

Her mother looked as if she might say something, but then seemed to think better of it and drew herself up. Though frail, Kurenai could sense an inner strength that held her up like steel.

"I'll take her then." She said quietly, but firmly. "Thank you."

Kurenai nodded in assent and adjusted her load before flitting away.

---

Kurenai dashed across the rooftops, trying to make the best of the trip and enjoy it. A few birds cried and flew off as she landed in their roosting place on top of the store. Most buildings had flat roofs for convenience, instead of slippery slanted roofs. Naruto was on her back, arms around her neck, and her arms were full with Sasuke. It was to his house, or more correctly, clan compound she was heading to.

It was almost a relic though, of tarnished honor, she thought as she arrived at the gates of the compound. No longer bustling and full of young children running errantly around. Most were solemn or just stayed inside, by paranoid mothers' urgings. Very few guiltless Uchiha were left. Any semblance of innocence had left long ago.

What was the address she had been given? Right, she thought, somewhere in the middle of the warren of buildings.

Itachi, to her shock was the one to greet her with a blank serious expression. However when his eyes alighted on his younger brother, the weight of the world seemed to lift off his shoulders and he smiled. "Sasuke!" The soft cry resulted in a crash and moments later Mikoto, the boys' mother appeared in the doorway, breathless.

She hugged Itachi, nearly crying, delight lighting her features making her seem years younger. "He's home, Itachi. Sasuke is home son." She whispered.

Kurenai left Sasuke with his family. She had a feeling things would be okay.

---

Now her burden was nearly gone, and considerably lightened, at least physically. She couldn't help but have a heaviness in her heart though as she approached the odd blond's home. It was in an old apartment complex, standing by itself. The Hokage's Tower and Academy were relatively close but in reality it was a ghost town. The remains of burned buildings were on three sides, a scar of the Kyuubi attack never healed, and the last side was where the rest of town lay about a quarter mile away.

He lived in the seedier area of town (though the condition of the building was surprisingly good given its age) and she saw several homeless people and druggies huddled in dark alleys.

This was Konoha's shadow, its great shame.

Kurenai opened the door slowly (no neighbors had stopped her, if there were any to be found) to find a rather clean apartment, but a strong depressing atmosphere clung to it, so she tried not to take too many details in. As she wandered to find his bed, she couldn't help but pick up on a few things.

Potted plants scattered around in fine condition (given three days of neglect, but she ignored how a few wilted here and there), blank scrolls, some scribbled on, others covered and doodled lay around haphazardly half open.

Kurenai tucked him into the worn bed with care, and stroked his forehead, frowning as he grimaced in his sleep.

Things had to get better. She hoped his team could give him to family he never had.

---

Sakura shuddered as she lowered herself into the warm water, feeling the sweat and grime of the past three days wash off her. It made her muscles relaxed and a general feeling of contentment flowed throughout her mentally and physically. Suddenly, she realized she had the urge to pee. The water was already nasty, who would notice? Was it really that much different, after relieving herself in a corner? But Sakura didn't like the idea of lying in her own urine and it seemed much different here.

This wasn't the room.

Moaning she rose abstractedly noticing the droplets rolling down her body, and thought for a moment, saddened, that it was like somehow the experiences of the past three days with her team was leaving as well. Already a bond had been forged through forced adversity. Sakura pulled the plug and let the tub drain and went to relief herself of a burden as well.

Her mother told her she'd slept for twenty hours straight.

She thought back on how she had been the first night: tired beyond belief, so exhausted she would need to add a new word to the dictionary to describe it, yet unable to quite hit the switch in her brain that said "sleep". For a few moments she'd lain in her bed teetering on the edge of a fence and eventually fallen off to the world of dreams. But, what would have happened if she hadn't fallen that way, and onto the other side?

She preferred to think that wasn't possible.

But if so, insomnia was the worst consequence wasn't it?

She hoped so.

Their...sensei, hadn't given them specific instructions but Sakura assumed he would contact him in the most insane way possible when he was done plotting their massive destruction.

And speaking of that...

Sakura needed to have a talk with her boys. Someone needed to help her extract her revenge!

---

Itachi watched motionlessly as his mother worked at the stove, making stew. She stirred the broth slowly and then left the pot to rinse some fresh tomatoes from the market.

He felt a sense of pride; mother had sent him to buy them. Itachi had done so happily. They were for _Sasuke_.

Earlier a woman had arrived from the "where ever" Sasuke had been, and brought his brother back. Itachi had felt something lighten in him and even smiled. His mother, he thought, liked it. That also made him feel good. He had helped situate Sasuke on the bed; Itachi had made sure that Sasuke's room had stayed clean while he was gone, because he liked being in the room. It reminded him of his brother and...was good. Not _bad_.

That was enough for him.

For a while he'd perched on a chair, "hours", his mother had said and watched his brother sleep. Snores had escaped from his mouth, his chest had risen and fallen, and Sasuke was quiet. But tired, troubled. Itachi could sense that even in sleep something had bothered him.

That made him _unhappy_.

Mother called him out, saying something about "fresh air" and other words that had dissolved into a mutter so he couldn't hear. Itachi had followed, sensing her worry and reasoned that she was mother so she knew things, so she knew Sasuke would be safe just like she knew when they were sad or when the rain would come and call them back into the house.

Now when Itachi looked at the clock the hands had moved-time apparently had not been idle while he mused and sat quietly.

"Go check on your brother will you? We need to get some food in him."

He got up faithfully eyes gliding smoothly over his mother, glancing at nothing, while he went directly to Sasuke's room.

Dark. The lights were off and Itachi heard only the soft inhalation of air. Definitely asleep. He flicked on the light and shuffled over to the bed where his brother was sprawled awkwardly. He reached out and grabbed his shoulder shaking him gently. Nothing. Sasuke merely wrinkled his nose and made a vague whining noise. Somewhat pricked by annoyance he repeated the action more insistently, finally waking him.

Itachi got a firmer grip on Sasuke's arm and then pulled, dragging him out of bed. Like a cat, his brother landed on his feet albeit he stumbled.

"Wah? 'tachi?"

In response Itachi gazed back and nodded in amusement.

"Wah...Wuz for supper?" he slurred. Sasuke yawned and let Itachi lead him to the kitchen. "Stew, and...tomatoes?" He perked up a bit, taking a whiff of air. Drool escaped the corner of his mouth but he made no movement to wipe it away. Sasuke just walked faster and was level with his brother instead of nearly dragging like earlier.

Itachi smiled secretly.

---

First were sounds, because the ears always remained awake, even in sleep. The soft scratch of rats' paws as they scurried about, looking for crumbs and avoiding cats. The soft steady thrum of raindrops on the roof, and the sharper rap against the window. He became aware of his own breathing in the quiet area.

A buzzing seemed to enter, not quite from his ears, but originating from somewhere inside his mind. Voices…arguing? He couldn't really tell.

And after all he was just so tired…he could think about it later…

With a soft yawn he drifted back off into the darkness.

...

**_Boom!_** An empty cry escaped him as he was startled awake by the crack of thunder. Naruto bolted up and tried to stand; ending up awkwardly tangled in the sheets and fell to the ground with a thump. Frowning he rubbed his back where he'd landed and untangled himself from the rumpled sheets. He tossed them back on the bed and stood, examining himself.

His hands were filthy. They weren't covered in dirt, but there was an invisible accumulation of something-grimy sweat? - And he felt itchy everywhere. A bath was in order.

Naruto stepped into the bathroom, feeling off for some reason and glanced in the mirror. He paused and looked back. For a moment, he could've sworn something was different. Something...something about his face, his eyes...

He stripped out of his clothes and let the blast of cold water hit him. Teeth chattered as he shivered, but the water did its job and already he was feeling cleaner. Better. The blond just stood for several minutes-the water cleared his head and now he felt more awake. As he started scrubbing his hair, that was when it hit him.

No headache.

Usually he had a constant soreness around his head that spiked randomly to near unbearable. It rarely happened in class, but when it did he just frowned deeper and bit his cheek to keep from screaming. He told himself he was silent because he didn't want people to think he was crazy, but even Naruto wasn't sure why he kept up his self-imposed muteness.

His hand twitched and he dropped the bar of soap.

Shaking his hand, he bent over to grab it.

!

His eyes widened and he gasped, sucking in a deep breath of air desperately. Naruto couldn't move! He found himself falling forward, and the colors, light, and sounds were fleeing.

---

Words: 2, 788

Eh, long wait. But I've been busy lately, especially now that U.I.L. has started. I'm trying out for spelling! Some words I didn't know existed: glossolalia, sahib, voix celeste...and we have to know the definitions and word origin. Anyway, I feel like I'm on a roll, so hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long.

1/30/10


	9. Bits and Pieces

Chapter 9:Bits and Pieces

Sasuke nearly tripped as he landed on the flat roof, but made his landing appear smoother than it was if a bit unsteady. He dropped into a crouch to compensate with his sudden lack of balance and glanced to his left, slightly behind him.

Sakura was smiling slightly, but saw him looking and quickly hid it. But not fast enough, he saw her expression and wondered what it meant-had she seen his goof and was laughing at him? The thought annoyed him a bit. He put it out of mind-girls were far too confusing- remembering exactly why they were out in the village in the middle of the night:

Naruto had disappeared and Kakashi suspected he'd stolen something. He refused to elaborate, but apparently it was quite important-The insane ANBU had had to convince the Hokage that he and his grunts could take care of it, without any interference from other squads.

And, succeeded.

Obviously.

So, what exactly had his teammate done? Sasuke tried to recall any facts or observations about the strange blond, but honestly the three days he'd spent walled up with Naruto was the most time he'd spent with him. He was the center of attention without really being there, if that made any sense. Everyone knew he was weird and that something just wasn't right.

Still, he couldn't think of the blond as someone who had a more messed up family history than him-he was an Uchiha after all. But that had to be it, right? People weren't just born mute and creepy.

Shuddering, Sasuke pictured a baby with Naruto's disturbed eyes and his quiet frown of nervousness.

In fact the Uchiha had an epiphany, which scared him:

The more and more Sasuke thought of it, the more he realized he considered the paranoid freak his friend.

-dundundun-

Naruto stealthily headed to the tower. He stuck to the shadows, and dashed across the gaps when the opportunity presented itself. The moon was full tonight, which worked against him and his motives.

Flattened against the wall, waiting for the guard to turn he stiffened for a moment and nearly dropped his kunai. Naruto shook his head. Finally, he got some time to play.

Out here at night? Why…?

Oh, that's right, the other had agreed to fulfill a favor for Mizuki. He scowled. Black mailing bastard.

Naruto stole in, through a window at ground level. It had been rusty for years.

His muscles tensed again. _'No! Not again dammit!'_ Naruto shouted inwardly. Though he wanted to loudly rant and rave, even he could see that this wasn't the time or place. Instead he pitched a fit as he relinqueshed control to the usual quiet blond. The newly minted genin blinked, re-orienting himself. _'Kill. Maim. Punish rats and traitors.' _Well, someone wasn't happy. Perhaps they woke up on the wrong side of his mind.

Naruto didn't particularly want to do this, but apparently some other part of him did-and even agreed to it-so it made the rest of him obligated.

Or something like that.

-yayayayay-

Short, pathetic and a teaser, I know. But I'm honestly stuck. I know where I want to go: I'm at point A and see point C but I haven't found point B. I will see what I can too. HKNB is for all intents and purposes dead. But Switch still has life yet! Maybe a review will inspire me, maybe it won't. But I thought I would let you see a bit more of the story either way.

6/19/10


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